Does Ghana's National Health Insurance Scheme Actually Benefit The Poor?

Author's note: This piece was written on 9/7/2013. It is being posted today, because I was unable to do so on the day. Please read on:


The admission to the emergency ward,  of the Children's Department of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital,  of the young grandson of  a lady I know,  has been a real  eye-opener for me.


The little boy  underwent surgery to remove a tumour  a few days ago. The care he has received thus far, has been superb.


There is no question that the  overworked medical doctors and nurses  attending the children,  in Korle Bu's  Children's Department's emergency ward, are dedicated to the children under their care.


However, from what I gather, the little boy's financially-challenged parents have had to pay for virtually everything to do with his treatment at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital: his operation; lab tests; scans; and medicine, including  intravenous  infusion packs.


Since the little boy's parents are paid-up members of the NHIS, it has left me wondering why that is so -  and what exactly,  if any, are the benefits of the National Health Insurance Scheme.


Is it the case, one wonders,  that the young patients at the emergency ward of the Children's Department of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital,  are somehow being taken advantage of,  at a time of extreme stress for their parents,  when they are at their most vulnerable?


One often hears advertisements being broadcast on FM radio stations,  informing listeners that it is illegal to be asked to pay for treatment and drugs at NHIS healthcare facilities.


Yet,  apparently, in the real-world setting of hospital wards in some government healthcare facilities,  patients on admission are nonetheless paying for their treatment.


The question then is:  what exactly are the benefits  for the poor in Ghana,  who pay annually to join the NHIS?


Presumably,  a portion of the  taxes that Ghanaians  pay, is allocated to meeting the cost of operating  Ghana's NHIS - in addition to the fees participants in the scheme pay annually.


Why then do  patients who receive treatment in NHIS hospitals and clinics in Ghana - such as my lady friend's young  grandson, who is   on admission at the emergency ward of the Children's Department of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital -  still have to pay for their treatment?


From the perspective of some of those who hold valid NHIS membership cards, it would appear that the old 'cash-and-carry' system,  is still very much alive,  in some government healthcare facilities.


The authorities responsible for Ghana's NHIS, would do well to  tell Ghanaians precisely what those who pay to join the NHIS should expect,  when they fall sick and have to go to an NHIS healthcare facility  to be treated - in terms of having to make cash payments.


The small fortune, which  that  little boy's struggling parents have apparently had to part with, in order  to pay for his treatment, has left me wondering whether the National Health Insurance Scheme actually benefits  the poor in Ghana.


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